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Monthly Archives: December 2014

Last session, the legislature made quite a few changes to the laws concerning parole eligibility. Almost all of those changes were not retroactive. One change it did make applies to persons already serving time and that was a mechanism whereby persons who have been convicted of non-violent crimes who have served 25% of their sentence…

Direct appeal Every defendant who has been convicted at trial is entitled to an appeal and the trial attorney has a duty to file a timely notice of appeal if the client desires. If the defendant cannot pay for an appeal, the Office of Indigent Appeals will be appointed to represent him or her. On…

The vehicle for asking the court to vacate a guilty plea is a motion for post-conviction relief. M.C.A. Sect. 99-39-1 et seq. It is filed with the trial court. That is, it is filed with the same judge who took the plea unless that judge is no longer available. There is a statute of limitations…

I get numerous calls from relatives of inmates who pleaded guilty and now want a do over. I explain how hard this is to do but I’m not sure anyone ever understands this. So, I decided to put together a list of cases that would explain what are some of the few grounds for vacating…

is titled “The Greatest Lawyer Who Ever Lived.” At 89 years of age, Jamail is as combative as ever. It’s an interesting read. The writer describes Jamail after a day in trial – he’s sitting in a restaurant over a drink and “luxuriating in his Jamail-ness.” Theoretically, his methods—relying on hypotheticals, rattling opponents, getting unfavorable facts…

This is what you get when you look at the decisions list. “The Mississippi Supreme Court will have no hand down on December 18, 2014, December 25, 2014, or January 1, 2015. The next scheduled hand down by the Court will be on January 8, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. CST.”

Court language interpreter seminar set for Jan. 7-8 in Jackson The Mississippi Administrative Office of Courts will conduct a seminar to introduce bilingual speakers to the requirements for court interpreting on Jan. 7-8, 2015, in Jackson. The Ethics and Skill Building Seminar will be conducted at the Gartin Justice Building, 450 High Street in…